Director, Strategic HR Business Partner (Remote)

Cengage Learning

3d•Remote

About The Position

We believe in the power and joy of learning At Cengage Group, our employees have a direct impact in helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose - driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education. Our culture values diversity, engagement, and discovery Our business is driven by our strong culture, and we know that creating an inclusive and diverse workplace is absolutely essential to the success of our company and our learners, as well as our individual well-being. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives in everything we do, and strive to ensure employees of all levels and backgrounds feel empowered to voice their ideas and bring their authentic selves to work. We achieve these priorities through inclusive programs, benefits, and initiatives that are integrated into the fabric of how we work every day. To learn more, please see https://www.cengagegroup.com/about/inclusion-and-diversity/ . Reporting to the SVP, Talent Strategy Partner, the Director, Strategic HR Business Partner is a strategic leader who drives the talent agenda within a business unit or function. You will be a thought partner with senior business leaders to develop and help drive their talent strategy that will enable the team to deliver against its business strategy and objectives. You will work with our Centers of Excellence, HR Services, Talent and Total Rewards to implement this strategy, applying a strategic and customer focused approach. You will be a core member of our high-performing and highly collaborative HR team, ensuring alignment with all HR goals and Cengage's credo and ethos. If you possess a mentality of critical thinking, a practical approach to drive results, and a dedication to ongoing improvement, you are the person we are looking for! Where you'll work: This is a remote work from home position for candidates located in the greater Boston MA or Cincinnati OH areas. The role requires occasional in person travel up to 20% of the time What you'll do here: As a member of the leadership team for a business unit or function, form effective partnerships with senior leaders to understand the business strategy and translate that strategy into strategic and operational Talent plans Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to senior leaders (VP+) on highly critical and often complex talent and people related issues Accountable for driving toward excellence in Talent Management across the Employee lifecycle. Bring the voice of the customer back to the broader HR team to ensure program design incorporates the needs of the business Partner with Talent Acquisition to recruit and onboard senior leaders; create and implement targeted TA strategies to achieve business goals Lead the performance management and talent review process and partner with leaders to ensure appropriate development plans are in place to support employee growth Guide leaders to identify functional competencies and performance dimensions for specific roles Coach and build capability of managers to be effective people leaders Partner with SVP, Talent Strategy Partner and senior leadership teams to develop a workforce planning strategy that helps develop accurate forecasts for near and long-term hiring and skill development needs. Implement plans to ensure adoption of new processes and protection of Cengage's culture and values Partner with the Inclusion & Diversity lead to support development and execution of inclusion programs Lead projects that are prioritized and critical to the talent agenda - examples include, but not limited to - compensation reviews, proactive retention, etc. Be a catalyst for organizational change; orchestrate organizational re-design efforts as needed, including Mergers & Acquisitions Leverage data and business mentality to pull out insights and proactively anticipate implications for talent strategy; present recommendations to influence actions Actively contribute to the global HR community to increase the capability and strategic value of the human resource function through high levels of performance and customer service. Share standard processes and seek input on solutions to tough problems. Effectively communicate progress and key findings and results from projects and discussions with key partners including HR team members, employees, and leaders within the business and the function.

Requirements

Minimum 10 years of experience as an HR professional with a minimum of 5 years supporting an organization's leadership team
Experience in developing and implementing talent strategies for high performance organizations
Superior collaboration and communication skills with executive presence.
Strong presentation skills and comfort level with addressing groups of all types and sizes.
Experience in supporting and driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming
Comfortable operating in a dynamic and sophisticated environment
Ability to use data to develop insights and recommendations
Strong coaching, conflict resolution and ability to have difficult conversations
Ability to lead-by-example and promote a positive, team-based environment.
Comfort with ambiguity and constant change, able to methodically work through sophisticated problems, set priorities and complete commitments.
Proficiency with Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Ability to travel up to 20% for required team meetings and other business unit events
Bachelor's degree strongly preferred or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Global/International teams
Workday experience a plus

Responsibilities

As a member of the leadership team for a business unit or function, form effective partnerships with senior leaders to understand the business strategy and translate that strategy into strategic and operational Talent plans
Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to senior leaders (VP+) on highly critical and often complex talent and people related issues
Accountable for driving toward excellence in Talent Management across the Employee lifecycle.
Bring the voice of the customer back to the broader HR team to ensure program design incorporates the needs of the business
Partner with Talent Acquisition to recruit and onboard senior leaders; create and implement targeted TA strategies to achieve business goals
Lead the performance management and talent review process and partner with leaders to ensure appropriate development plans are in place to support employee growth
Guide leaders to identify functional competencies and performance dimensions for specific roles
Coach and build capability of managers to be effective people leaders
Partner with SVP, Talent Strategy Partner and senior leadership teams to develop a workforce planning strategy that helps develop accurate forecasts for near and long-term hiring and skill development needs.
Implement plans to ensure adoption of new processes and protection of Cengage's culture and values
Partner with the Inclusion & Diversity lead to support development and execution of inclusion programs
Lead projects that are prioritized and critical to the talent agenda - examples include, but not limited to - compensation reviews, proactive retention, etc.
Be a catalyst for organizational change; orchestrate organizational re-design efforts as needed, including Mergers & Acquisitions
Leverage data and business mentality to pull out insights and proactively anticipate implications for talent strategy; present recommendations to influence actions
Actively contribute to the global HR community to increase the capability and strategic value of the human resource function through high levels of performance and customer service.
Share standard processes and seek input on solutions to tough problems.
Effectively communicate progress and key findings and results from projects and discussions with key partners including HR team members, employees, and leaders within the business and the function.